A Starward Vortex

by BlindRider

A boy who has seeked countless worlds, and the dreams of a young girl who wishes nothing but a better future for her land. He finds strength in her powerful yet gentle gaze, while she finds strength through his understanding and compassionate actions. Time can only tell as the curious surge of electricity meets the elements of the unknown. Cover by enefue on Pixiv

21. Always

"All right, that's enough talk for today. If you ever miss me, just close your eyes — and maybe I'll appear in your dreams~."

Nahida smiled cheekily after, a knowing look ablaze in her eyes.

"Though I'm inclined to think that you already have someone else in your mind for such an occasion, don't you, Traveler?"

Aether scoffed internally. There really was no point in trying to hide anything from the literal God of Wisdom herself. Besides, her childish innocence makes it extremely hard for him to really hold even anything sort of a mock-grudge against her teasing tone.

That being said, he also had a huge baggage in his mind to process. After making sure that their payment at the inn had been settled, they teleported back into their ever-welcoming Serenitea Pot. Paimon stretched out a massive yawn before she excused herself to her own room, leaving Aether to sit out on his bed with his thoughts swirling chaotically in his mind.

How is Lumine not considered a "Descender" like I was?

Who were these other people that had the same fate that I had?

And as per usual, his prodding ended with the same question laid at the tip of his tongue.

What in the world happened five hundred years ago?

It was evident to him that letting those questions all muck around – stuck within his mind, would lead to nothing but more frustration. He needed an outlet, and rather than simply letting it fester like he normally would, he had to let it out.

So, he took a quick look around the room. Noticing that there hadn't been any remarkable changes from the days before he settled in Sumeru, he came to the conclusion that his partner had not been spending as much time in the teapot as he had initially thought. At least, not within the last couple of days.

Heading next door, he opened the door to her study to find that it looked to have been left in a similar state. Nothing that signifies any activities in the past few days, which in itself was not an entirely foreign concept. But it gave him an idea that she hadn't exactly taken it easy for the past couple of days.

Stretching that bit of soreness away from his body, he left a note at his desk for Paimon to look at before he went to teleport out towards Yujing Terrace. After letting his eyes settle through the newfound brightness, he breathed in the sight of the capital. By no means was one city superior than the other, but he won't deny that Liyue possesses a different kind of charm compared to that of Sumeru City's.

He took his time in making his way towards the upper plaza, taking in the familiar sights back into his heart. The kids that had been running around the city stairs, the wharfmen that had taken a break within the city, and the myriad of milleliths patrolling around to make that the occupants are all safe within their city walls.

It did come with a tiny bit of confusion within his mind.

Is there a smaller number of milleliths around the city?

Not that he would know the exact numbers of the personnels that they have allocated for the city, but his instincts were just calling out to him. His eyes then confirmed that it might have been the case, the officers being more sparsely spaced out within the city sections also backed his initially baseless assumptions.

Something that he decided to take note of in the back of mind.

But the moment that he stepped onto the plaza, he knew that something was most definitely awry. Especially when he saw an increased number of milleliths stationed around a familiar building block.

Immediately, he rushed forth towards the building. Particularly the unit that had the greatest number of officers stationed on guard on the entrance of it.

He had recognized one of the officers to be Zhengmao, and called out to the man.

"Zhengmao, what's going on here?"

Surprisingly, the man almost froze on the spot. His eyes swirling about in its socket, trying to find an exit from the conversation through any means possible, to which his partnered officers have nothing to help him with.

In the end, he could only begin his stammered words, "I-I'm afraid that I'm not in a position to disclose anything to you, Traveler…"

Aether was ready to launch into another train of questioning, before he took a closer look at the unit that they had been heavily guarding.

It had been Keqing's apartment…

His voice grew sharp, and so did the gaze that he held.

"Zhengmao…"

"Traveler! Oh, thank the Archons that you have returned!"

In the instance that the door to Keqing's apartment flew open, Huixin rushed out towards him. Her tone distressed and her breathing ragged, it alerted Aether to the conviction that there was a prevalent issue in hand. He knew that she was ready to ask him for something, but Zhengmao was still doubtful.

"Huixin, we don't have clearance to speak-,"

"It's quite alright, Zhengmao. The Traveler has full clearance over this matter if he is willing to lend his assistance."

Looking past Huixin, Aether took notice of the Tianquan herself. An abnormally concerned gaze fully ladened in her eyes, while the Qilin next to her shared the same exact sentiment.

Making sure that Zhengmao had fully retreated his stout guard, Aether walked up to the woman ahead of him.

"Ningguang, what in the world happened while I was gone?"

Sighing to herself, Ningguang decided that there was no use in holding anything back.

"We think that Lady Keqing might have been kidnapped."

---

It was a silent turn of the air. While everyone had waited for his reaction, he could do nothing but to stand there with disbelief written all over his face. His heart that had strummed heavily in his chest not sinking into the deepest depth of his stomach. His mind practically flashing a blank slate of white in his eyes.

"What?"

"It was on incredibly foolish oversight in my part, Traveler." Zhengmao began to speak up, "Had I been more insistent in providing her a proper entourage for her trip out towards Cuijue Slope, we would not have left her to go on the journey all by her lonesome."

Ningguang raised her hand, "Enough of that, Zhengmao. There is no blame to be had for you there, you of all people should know how difficult it is to persuade Lady Keqing over any seemingly trivial matter." She gestured towards Aether, "The Traveler knows of this aspect all too well himself. None of us will bear any of this on your shoulders."

The man still had not looked to convinced, before Aether himself placed his own hand on his shoulder. A discerning look in his eyes all that it took for Zhengmao to understand that he had no intention of putting any of this on his innocent conscience.

With that, the officer backed out. A nod showcasing his acceptance of everyone's exoneration of his self-applicated guilt.

Turning back to Ningguang, Aether asked, "Do you know what might've happened?" His gaze trailed towards the apartment, "Are you positive that this is for sure a kidnapping?"

"Positive. Keqing hasn't been spotted both in her office and her domicile for the past two days. No civilians had any concrete recollection of ever spotting her in that timeframe, and the contractors that were supposed to have met her had gone off the grid." Motioning towards Ganyu, she muttered with vindictiveness, "Ganyu ran a deeper background check on them. Only to end up with bogus addresses and aliases which used to be associated with the Treasure Hoarders. We highly suspect that they have a hand in the attempt to hold her captive."

Ganyu took her turn to provide her piece, "They were incredibly intricate in hiding the traces of their existence, but Lady Keqing's personal notes helped us narrow down the information alleys to go through." She materialized a specific set of notes, before handing it over to the constricted blonde, "We believe that they had somehow slipped their documents for a meeting through an infiltration of our system, which is how their request for a meeting ended up on Lady Keqing's desk."

He kept his eyes on the notes as he thoroughly sifted through them, "Is that kind of thing even possible?"

Ningguang hummed with a tone of disapproval, "Through the correct connections and timing, there are unfortunately; plenty of aspects that can slip through our dated procedures." She clicked her tongue, "As you may well be familiar through the conflict with the Tianshu's re-election, some things are prone to exterior tampering with the right amount of effort."

Though the notes have thoroughly given them an idea of who might have been behind this farce, he realized that there was really nothing on those documents that gave them a clue into where they might have been holding her. Sure, noting down the meeting location and exact coordinates were pretty much on par with what he would expect to find in the Yuheng's diligently notated documents. But he was sure that the millelith had at least followed up on such details.

His knuckles almost grew white with how tightly he had been gripping the parchment, "There's nothing here that can even be used as a clue…" He concluded through seething teeth, "Did you find anything in Cuijue Slope?"

"The millelith has been scouring the area non-stop for the past forty-eight hours." Zhengmao reports, though his tone remained in its faltering state, "We have yet to find anything of help either. It seems like the rain yesterday helped the crooks wipe out any traces of their tracks. Questioning the locals also did no good seeing as most of them remained indoors throughout our timeframe."

That's why there was less milleliths stationed around the city.

Fearing that he might destroy their only lead, he settled to return the documents back onto Ganyu's hands, "So, what now? Are we just dead stumped with nothing to go on?"

Before Ningguang even replied, he could tell that it had been exactly the case with the hesitant look that she shared with Ganyu, "Unfortunately, that's where our investigation is currently halted at. We suspect that they will look to get in to contact with us with a ransom note sometime soon." Pausing for a brief moment, her hesitancy seemed to multiply, "Forgive me for asking, but given your close relation with the Yuheng, we were somewhat hoping that you would have more of a clue to what her plans might have been."

"Ningguang, with all due respect; I've been in Sumeru for the past couple of months. Contrary to what some people believe, I'm not an all-seeing god either." He almost snapped, barely biting back the venom within his reply, "Whatever any of your guesses are will probably be better than mine."

For once, Ningguang knew that it hadn't been her right to ask him of such a question. It was without a doubt that if he had been present, the possibilities of such a situation even formulating would have been in the negative.

"Of course, my apologies." Her words barely doing anything to sooth the growing leash in his heart. "We would have contacted you earlier, but there had been no instantaneous measures that we could have taken. Sending a letter to Sumeru's Adventure Guild would have taken too long."

His mind then began racing through his own words. A revelation brought about a sense of realization within his mind.

Wait, I'm not an all-seeing god, but…

Just as he was about to mutter out his thoughts, a familiar presence suddenly brought itself to their side.

"There you are. We have an urgent matter to discuss."

Aether knew that the voice had belong to the person that he knew would have something to share on the situation. The dismayed reactions of the officers around them also an indicator as to who had just arrived.

"Xiao, I get that you have an idea of the situation."

"More or less. I've alerted the other Adepti to keep a closer watch of their territories." The boy adeptus reported, ignoring the curious gazes of the milleliths, "My apologies. I sensed her distress, but I was late to arrive at the scene, and they were able to sufficiently distract me just enough to hide the traces of her whereabouts from my vision."

Aether waved his apology, "Don't apologize. You did what you could." He crossed hir arms in the same manner Xiao had done, "Though are you saying that you can't trace her even now?"

A silent nod from the adeptus enough to confirm his deductions. If there was anything that Xiao could have done about it, he would have done so before Aether had even thought of asking.

"But, is that not virtually impossible?" Ganyu pepped up, her tone full of disbelief, "Anything that humans do that can evade the gaze of the Conqueror of Demons is practically unheard of."

"It is not a matter of what they do, it is more about where they have done it." Ningguang initially muttered, before fully voicing her concerns, "Correct me if I'm wrong, Adeptus Xiao. But, is there not specific locations or conditions that would completely block off your detection abilities?"

A look of surprise laid itself on Xiao's features, "That is correct, though I am not entirely sure of how you have made yourself aware of such a fact." He cleared his throat to erase the instability in his voice, "But it had also been my thoughts exactly. I have a strong suspicion that whoever it is that has captured the Yuheng, might be in cahoots with the Abyss. As of recent, they seem to have developed numerous methods to avoid my sight."

"What would the Abyss gain from having captured the Yuheng?" Zhengmao inquired, "I get Treasure Hoarders and bandits in general, but don't members of the Abyss normally hurt people and are not the ones to hold others hostage?"

Mulling over the question, Ningguang sighed, "Maybe it is in the case where her being held captive provides them with more opportunities to spur chaos." She motioned towards the city afterwards, "Keqing is the one responsible for how people's livelihoods are being managed. And with how rigorous and stable she had made the system become; it would definitely throw the balance of many individuals' income into disarray if she were to disappear. As far as I'm concerned, she's the only one who has absolute knowledge over how one section of the industry deviates into the other."

"Not to mention. She's also responsible for the development of Liyue's general infrastructure." Aether shook his head at the thought of recollecting her schedule, "She's stupidly meticulous as well. She's drafted plans for stuff all the way to a couple of years into the future. Imagine having someone take over her reigns and having to deal with that kind of schedule in flash."

"Suffice to say, there are plenty of chaos that can be generated if anything were to happen to her." Ningguang concluded with finality, "It leaves internal malice from government officials as a possibility as well. Any sort external or even internal organizations, regardless if they are hostile or not; will have substantially gained power if they had someone of her stature under their control."

"If that's the case, then have you informed Yelan?" Aether suggested, thinking that such an internal look at the government itself would require someone of her expertise to be involved.

To Aether's bemusement, Xiao had been the one to interject, "I have notified her of this predicament before I came to find you." He explained with conviction, "She has taken note of the case and have entertained the possibilities of an accomplice from within Liyue Harbour."

"That settles that then." Taking in a sharp intake of air, Ningguang held a hand to her chin, "We will continue to scour through our notes and documents to find any further leads, while the millelith should bolster their search with an expanded perimeter."

Zhengmao stood at the ready, "Copy that. I will notify the regiments at once!"

While they watched the officer run off with a couple of his men, Aether could only growl in frustration. He knew that two days is enough time for virtually anything to happen. Cuijue Slope is roughly at the centre point of Liyue itself, these crooks could have taken her to anywhere within the map, or even worse, taken her out of the country without any hopes of them ever being able to procure a concrete enough clue of her whereabouts.

He scratched his head furiously, desperately willing his mind to come up with something.

Anything!

"Let's take a little of solace in the fact that Keqing is an incredibly resourceful woman." Ningguang remarked, inching closer to place a hand on Aether's shoulder, "It will take more than just a group of overzealous bandits to snuff out her wit."

"I know that. But I still hope that all of you can understand where my frustration is coming from."

The Traveler is not one known to have ever raised his voice. And though the veracity of his tone had caught everyone who was left off guard, by no means were they able to say that his leap of emotions had been unjustified.

"We understand." Xiao acknowledged. His voice uncharacteristically soft.

Aether knew that he was being somewhat unreasonable. These people have no idea of the things that he had to trudge through just days before coming back to their nation. There was no reason for him to be overly snappy with the ones who are also trying their best to find his loved one, but it did not mean that he was able to control his emotions to such a degree. From having to thwart a government from illegally experimenting on their people, fighting the god that they created, and now having to suddenly figure out who had held his girlfriend captive when he had been looking for her comfort?

For once he would ask the world to give him a break.

While his mind was still in a haze, Ganyu had continued deducing the situation, "We will try to narrow down the list of internal suspects through the operations that we have marked with potential illegalities in their proceedings." She offered, "Maybe that way, we can significantly reduce the time it takes to comb through our documents."

Wait, illegal operation.

Maybe…

"Tell me, do either of you know if she's still going through that whole 'dismantling an illegal business from the inside' thing that she did a while ago?"

Ganyu nodded immediately, "If you're asking if she still devised plans for such operations, then yes. It's just that she never had the time to carry it out herself any longer."

"That and because I told her not to do that kind of thing without me." Aether confirmed, the tapping on his forearm driven by anxiety, "But, could she have placed those plans elsewhere for the sake of security? Maybe back in her apartment?"

Huixin, who had been silent for most of the discussion took the time to pep up, "I've gone through her drawers and shelves just now, and can't seem to locate such plans." She casted a confused gaze, "I'm sure that I would have been able to recognize those kinds of documents if I were to come across it, and it also looked as if she had shifted a lot of her papers out of the unit."

Trailing his eyes across the apartment, his eyes eventually made his way towards the end of building block. Where another familiar building lay dormant. Without a second thought, he dashed towards building. The others following suit while they figured out what he had spotted.

Stopping in front of the unit, he materialized the key to the building while Ningguang observed with a hum.

"Of course, she would have left you with a key to her grandfather's house." She remarked, watching as Aether unlocked the door and rushed in. "This could be where she had placed her more personal and sensitive documents."

Safe for Xiao, they wasted no time in heading out towards the rooms scattered across the building. The former choosing to keep watch of the entrance in case of any curious passer by decided to sneak a peek into their operation.

Even after a good amount of time searching through her shelves and drawers, there was nothing that they could evidently use as a clue to her whereabouts. While Aether himself had scoured through the main work desk, he still felt as if he had been barking up the wrong tree.

"There was nothing in the upstairs rooms." Ningguang mentioned when she and Huixin got back downstairs, "It looks like she has definitely placed the documents elsewhere."

"None in the private quarters as well." Ganyu came back with a huff, thought she had held something in her hand, "I did find her Dispatch to your Serenitea Pot, Traveler."

At the sight of her Dispatch, he instantly grabbed it, and smacked his forehead.

If there was ever a place that had been virtually untouchable in terms of security, then it would have been his own personal dominion. The pocket of space and time accessible only to those with the correct pass.

"Of course, the study!" Dematerializing Keqing's Dispatch away, he quickly commenced his own bit of teleportation into his domain, "Give a couple of minutes, guys."

His vision of the old study was immediately replaced by the entrance to Keqing's study in the teapot. Charging into the space, he made his way towards her desk and began to scour through her drawers. And sure enough, she had not even bothered to keep the documents hidden further away from just the surface of the drawers.

Because why would she?

It was only ever him, Paimon, and Tubby who frequent the Serenitea Pot other than herself. People she would have no reason to distrust. Safe for a couple of occasional visits from Madame Ping, there wasn't really anyone else who could have even come close to having access to these documents. So, why hide it further?

And just from a brief glance, he knew that there had been valuable information within these parchments. So, he gathered them all and wasted no time in bringing them along with him.

Teleporting back to the view of the others who had waited in her grandfather's house, Aether finally perked up. His eyes glinting with a bit of hope while he waved the documents in hand.

"I think I've got some things here." Sifting through the pages, he turned them to their sights, "No one could've gotten to these if they were stored in my realm. I think there's a lot things you can use here to narrow the search down."

Handing them over for Ganyu to see, Huixin and Ningguang took further observation of the notes from the side. Their eyes meticulously tracing through all the content within in order to swiftly rule out which ones had been of use and which ones have no relevance to the case.

Thankfully for the trio, there wasn't really any need to do much of the narrowing down by their selves, "We can safely rule out a lot of the smaller operations that she had been monitoring, and focus on the section that she has placed much more grievances upon." Ganyu commented before placing the parchments flat onto the desk, "That would leave us with these four primary locations. One located in Minlin, one in Bishui Plains, and the other two in Lisha."

"Which one has the least number of underground sections?"

Xiao had joined in on the planning, his eyes observantly tracing through the map.

"That would be the two in Lisha." Ningguang answered in a flash, "Do you plan surveying the ones with most surface-level structures since those do not restrict your detection abilities?"

With a nod, Xiao pointed towards the respective sections on the map, "Correct. This way, I can clear them off faster than you can send men to the location." He trailed his finger into the rest of the locations, "The other locations are rife with underground disturbances, which may be one of the methods that these bandits are utilizing to avoid adeptus detection. I trust that the rest of you can handle the rest?"

After a round of thumbs up from the group, Xiao wordlessly kept his head down and simply vanished into thin air. His mission already handed out to him, there was no need for him to listen out to what the others have been delegated with.

"I'll take the one at the Plains." Aether volunteered, stretching his arms out afterwards, "I take it that you're going to send the millelith towards the one at Minlin, Ningguang?"

"That was the plan, but are you sure that you will be fine handling the one at the Plains all by yourself?" Worry evident in Ningguang's voice, and the gaze both Ganyu and Huixin had presented him with, "Based on pure distance alone, the abandoned mineshafts east of Mount Aocang presents the highest chance of the being the target location for their hideout."

Taking the parchment that held the diagram of the location, he flashed them a determined grin, "I'll be alright. I need to blow off some steam, and these people couldn't have picked a more terrible timing to mess with me and the people that I care about." With a crack of his neck, he dematerialized the parchment in hand, "Just so you know, if they happen to be there; then I'm not holding anything back."

"Understood. Give them hell, Traveler." Ningguang noted, turning to Ganyu with outstretched hands, "Ganyu, get a squadron to convene with me at the northern city gates. You lead a provisional platoon to join us at the target." Her gaze the fell onto Huixin next, "Huixin, notify the rest of the Qixings of our operation. Have each of their staff guarantee full cooperation with Yelan's investigation, and if anyone dares to hold any information from us, do not hesitate to use force."

"Right away, Lady Ningguang." The two affirmed her orders and made their way out of the domicile.

With a final share of a look between the two, Aether took it as a sign to leave the rest of the coordination to her and the personnels in hand.

Not wanting to waste more time, he commenced his teleportation towards the north-eastern hills of Mount Aocang.

---

The moment his eyes adjusted to the new sight; he quickly unravelled the document. Piecing the diagrams of the potential hideout to the landscape to scope out any possible location for entrances and even exits. His eyes vigilantly scrying the horizon to find anything that might look anything close to a match.

In other scenarios, he would have eons worth of patience when it comes to figuring geographic placements of specific locations. Yet, with the fuel of adrenaline boosting the concerns of his heart into overdrive, he found himself reaching a point of impatience just mere tens of minutes into attempting to read the landscape.

His scalp became the victim once more. His frustrated digits running through his hair while his nails roughly scraped the aforementioned surface, his eyes spotting the cluster of hair that showered down as a result of his boiling aggressiveness.

He was ready to grind his teeth down to oblivion before a voice boomed over the vicinity.

"Traveler, One has been made aware of your need for One's assistance."

Turning towards the source of the voice, it had been none other than Moon Carver who descended from the skies. Landing with a thud just right beside him. It reminded him of the fact that Mount Aocang and its vicinity basically falls under the adeptus' territory. That being said, he knew that it had rather been Cloud Retainer's territory instead of Moon Carver's.

"Moon Carver. Sorry, I don't have the time to be all formal with you." Aether just outright blurted out, "But I thought this whole area falls under Cloud Retainer's business?"

His voice grew with a gentle boom, "Cloud Retainer is currently preoccupied in another section of our domain, and One understands. The Conqueror of Demons have notified the dwellers of Jueyun Karst regarding the heinous acts of the interlopers that has held the Yuheng captive." The elegant stag clicks his hooves, "One shall help you detect her whereabouts, but One will be unable to provide sufficient assistance should a battle rear its ends untoward us."

Aether could only thank his lucky stars that Moon Carver had been the one to arrive. Though he would normally come in contact with Cloud Retainer, something tells him that her stoic criticism would be rather detrimental to his already worsening mood.

"Thank you, Moon Carver." He said, putting the document away, "I owe you guys one after this."

Moon Carver though, vehemently shook his head, "Nonsense. You are a valuable companion to Rex Lapis himself. We adepti would not dare curry favours with those with such a status." Turning his body to begin leading the way, his voice remained gentle, "Consider this as one companion, helping another. Nothing more, and nothing less."

Well, Aether would gladly take that sort of arrangement.

"Alright, if you say so." He fell in line with the adeptus, who already looked to have a direction in mind, "Looks like you somewhat of a clue of where to go."

The hum of his voice vibrated through the expanse, "When the Conqueror of Demons stated that his detection abilities have not been able to pinpoint the Yuheng's whereabouts, One had immediately thought of an ancient tree that has presided over this vicinity for centuries." He guided Aether to a higher elevation for a better view of the incredibly hilly sides of the mountain, "Through time, this particular tree and its surrounding surface have grown enough elemental resonance to offset detection abilities such as the one that the Guardian Yaksha possesses."

"So, you're saying that this place can block out external elements that might try to seep in?" Aether quickly inquired.

"One would rather akin to it merely placing a façade over the elements beneath it." He corrected Aether's understanding, "The façade has no ability to prevent intrusive elements from unravelling the objects hidden beneath it all."

That gave the blonde a bit more insight to understanding how it works, "Oh, you mean the way the ocean looks blue from surface, yet it's actually dark and colourless once you've dived under?"

"A sound analogy. This resonance creates a form of deception when they are faced with abilities that rely on their astute understanding of the elements." A nod approving of Aether's comments abound before he continues, "This causes a perception where there is no perceived disturbance detected from within the vicinity."

"Meanwhile, what's going under the cover is completely filtered out from the elemental flow."

Another nod of approval from the adeptus, "Precisely. Rex Lapis was indeed correct in describing yourself to be a highly perceptive character."

Aether simply took the compliment as it is. Choosing to avert his focus back towards scoping out any potential openings amongst the rocky terrain around them.

Eventually, they reached an embankment that Aether last visited trying to gather some Jueyun Chillies for Xiangling. And just across the small valley between them, was the ancient tree that has now returned to Aether's memories. These parts of Liyue are sections that he rarely ever had any need to adventure towards, making the terrain somewhat of a foggy sight for his eyes.

That being said, he knew for a fact that this had been the correct spot. Judging by the number of Treasure Hoarders that were now patrolling the area. All of them seemingly stationed in a way that guards the hollow sections beneath the trees.

"Ah, it seems that there are interlopers lurking around in the shadows. They must be aware of the domain beneath the ground." Moon Carver commented with disdain. "This is where One will have to rescind their presence. One trusts that you are capable of handling these vermin?"

Unbeknownst to him, Aether had already brandished his sword. Twirling it in his hand to remove the light kinks of his wrist, he nodded back with confidence, "Don't worry. I'm in the mood to beat them up at the moment." He then gave the adeptus a light bow, "Thanks for the help, Moon Carver. Send the other's at Jueyun Karst my regards."

"One shall do just that." The stag said as he turned to head back towards Minlin, "The best of luck on your endeavours, young one."

With a final salute, he watched for a bit as the adeptus flew away from the scene. Leaving Aether to devise his plan of taking down the patrolling Hoarders.

After a brief observation, he was able to map out the pathways of each of the patrollers. Identifying the points in which they would go out of one another's visions, he made a beeline to intercept each of them right as they arrive at such a point.

Prepping his newfound power of Dendro and his electro moves, he wasn't about to hold back in knocking them out.

Imbuing his sword with the Dendro that he had prepared, he waited until the opportunity to arrive before bailing out of his cover to jolt the patrollers with a moderate amount of pure electrical energy, before smacking the back of their heads with his sword to make sure that the electro coursing through their bodies were amplified to an amount that would immediately knock them out of commission.

He didn't care about their gasps of pain, he only wanted to see the light knocked out of their souls.

Systematically, each of them began to fall like dominoes. Precisely timing the takedown of one into the other, Aether made quick work of all the ones that had been keeping watch on the outskirts of the tree. Inching himself closer into the centre of it all.

Keeping his stance low while he observed the guards that had been roaming beneath the trees, he was able to count out at a dozen Hoarders stationed at the outside of the entrance to the cave alone. A part of him wondered about the number of people that they would have inside if they were able to spare so many on the outside, but ultimately served as nothing but an additional boost of determination for his efforts.

He was ready pounce, before the Hoarders began talking amongst one another when one of them came out of the shadows of the cave entrance.

"How much longer are we going to have to wait?!" The newcomer complained, "That bitch down there wouldn't stop yammering our ears off even during interrogation. If I hadn't left hours ago, I probably would've shut her mouth for good!"

The burlier man next to him merely chuckled, "Have some patience you idiot. The ransom note should have arrived at their office a couple of hours ago." He then slapped the man's back with a vigour undeserving to have belong to a criminal, "Think of the amount of money we can extort out of those pretentious Qixings. We'd be set for life!"

"I'm not even sure if we got the right person." Another one of the Hoarders began speaking up, "She looks way too young to be someone of that kinda status in the government."

"Oh, we got the right person alright."

When the man pulled a golden looking object out of his pockets, Aether could just feel his blood boil over hell itself.

"No one who isn't some noble bigshot would be wearing a hairpin made outta pure gold just like this, don't you think?" The golden hairpin shone brightly in his grubby hands, "Betcha this thing's worth our entirely live savings multiplied by ten. I'm gonna sell it and be richer than then entire branch combined!"

Just like that, Aether saw nothing but red.

For a second, the men had been looking at their camp leader flaunt a piece of jewellery that might as well have been worth enough to have the entire camp not work for the rest of their lives.

Yet, just a second later. The jewellery had flipped out of their camp leader's hand and onto the hands of a blonde who appeared out of nowhere. The burly man holding it before not only had his smile wiped out his face, but his consciousness also gone from his head.

Trembling under the blonde's piercing gaze, the man who had just joined them outside could barely hold his knees together.

"W-Wha, who the hell are you!?"

Though the man had expected an answer, he suddenly found himself wishing that he had never said anything in the first place. For as sharp as Aether's gaze had been, his voice had sliced through the air like a molten sword would through paper.

"You guys have some nerve fiddling with other people's belongings like that." Storing the hairpin away, he twirled his sword around, "Let's see if you would mind having a few of your teeth knocked out of its sockets."

Before any of them could respond, the one who still quivered at the nether reaches of the hollow cavern called out, "I-Isn't this guy that one outlander that beat the crap out of the water dragon that came out of nowhere?!"

"What!? I thought the intel said that the guy was not in town for a long time!"

Aether took the opportunity to scoff. His voice rebounding menacingly around the space around them.

"Looks like I can spare the introductions. For that, I'm willing to offer any of you a deal." He kept a tight gaze over the other dozen that had remained, "If you agree to just run out of this place and tell the rest of the motley crew you have down there to surrender, then I will graciously leave you all be and take the Yuheng back with me."

Sensing an opportunity to escape, one of the men that had been closest towards the exit began making a run for it. Only for the two exits to be immediately blocked off by a geo construct that had just grown out of the ground. They all looked back towards the blonde in the middle to see that he had traces of geo emanating from his hands. Though he had smile on his lips, his eyes had held nothing but venom in his gaze.

"On second thoughts, I'd rather not risk any of you tattling for backup." Bolstering the geo constructs, he stretched his arms once more, "I'm gonna put all of you down. All at once."

At his declaration, every one of the men began to pull out their weapons. The skinny man ahead of him seemingly taking point of the squad with a wavering swing of his axe.

"Think again, kid. You're outnumbered twelve to-,"

Aether simply had no patience for such a repetitive spiel. Instead, he opted to summon a vortex imbued with electro to pick up all of the Hoarders surrounding him off of their feet. Their cacophony of screams and shouts somewhat of a sadistic melody in his ears before he decided that enough was enough. Concentrating the vortex to land at the middle of the space en masse, he brought them down by summoning another geo construct above them. Both sufficiently knocking them out while creating a makeshift prison for the entire group.

The crackles of electro still lighting about as he passed them rounded off yet another session of satisfyingly putting these crooks out of commission, but Aether knew that he wasn't about to let up before he has Keqing safely back in his hands.

After making sure that the geo construct would hold, he began making his way into the mineshaft ahead of them.

Or so, he thought of it to have been a mineshaft.

Describing the underground structure as an ancient labyrinth might have been the more appropriate piece of adjective.

Whatever the structure was intended for, he could tell from the get-go that it had been constructed a long time ago. With not only various chambers littered across this first surface floor that he could see, he also observed various multi-levelled flights of stairs that were practically surrounding the outskirts of each floor.

More than ever, he understood why Xiao hadn't been able to gain any sort of reading as to Keqing's whereabouts. Not only was this place vastly intricate, it was also quite deep underground. Pile that up with that elemental resonance that Moon Carver had mentioned, then there would have been close to zero chance of Xiao's abilities to have been able to ascertain even the mere existence of such a location.

Aether himself would have been severely lost, if he hadn't decided to follow the oldest trick in just about every dungeon exploration books that he had ever read during his time journeying across the universe.

When you are in the enemy's base, and you don't know where to go to find what you're looking for…

…Always look for guards.

Where there are guards, there will be objectives.

And thus, Aether simply stuck true to that philosophy. He kept his stealth up for as long as he could. Leaping from room to room at the sight of each new guards that he saw, avoiding all the empty hallways in favour of those that had oppositions, whilst simultaneously checking the contents of each room. Making sure that he wasn't missing anything that might have pertained to Keqing's exact whereabouts in this maze of stairs and chambers. He took the chance of knocking out the guards that he could hide away in the rooms, and simply shifting past the ones that were simply too risky to put out of commission.

Gradually, he began to see that the number of chambers has decreased, and so have the stairs. Yet, the number of guards he encountered from the view of the shadows not all decreasing, before he finally arrived at a flight of stairs that were considerably longer than the rest before it.

He was ready to turn tail for another hallway, before he heard faint sounds of thudding echoing through the downturned path.

Upon sharpening his hearing, he realized that it had been the familiar sound of people's fist connecting onto something.

Or more specifically, someone.

And upon hearing the sound of someone who had sounded like a woman, his heart began to drop as the words of the Hoarders on the surface began to rush back into his mind.

If I hadn't left hours ago, I probably would've shut her mouth for good!"

It was enough to force him out his stealth mindset. He couldn't bear the possibility of letting them torture her any further.

Practically gliding through the staircase, his pace kept growing he listened to the sound of the altercation taking place. The sound of bodies hitting the floor became much more prevalent, and so was the female grunting.

Wait, bodies?

It did sound like it had been multiple bodies dropping after one another, instead of a singular one repeatedly hitting the floor.

So, he pulled his pace back. And the moment he does so, so did the sound of the altercation begin to dissipate out of the air. Though a part of him had begun to doubt his decision making, he wasn't entirely sure of the scenario that had been presented in front of him.

Keeping himself close to the wall, he tried his best to hear if there were any other auditory clues as to what had happened in the chamber ahead of him. And when that had failed, he decided to rely on the light of the flames that bouncing off the wall across the entrance to said chambers. Watching as the fire inside flickered wildly, still keeping his back flushed to the wall.

There had been nothing on the wall before he saw the silhouette of a sword being drawn over the fire. Though he had initially thought that it had simply been someone readying up their weapon before heading out, he began to realize something as the sword's shadow grew smaller in scale.

This wasn't someone gearing out their weapon before heading out.

This was someone gearing up their weapon to strike in that moment.

Specifically, whoever this is, was about to try and catch him off guard.

Immediately, he knew that there was no chance that he was giving this person an opportunity to strike first.

In a flash, he brought out his sword and quickly twirled around the corner. His blade pointing straight at the location of where one's throat would normally be.

Only to find an ever-familiar sword being the one to have its tip be pointed towards his own jugular.

A fierce gaze lay upon both sets of eyes connecting with one another. Though the moment those amber coloured orbs recognized the blinding amethyst ones of the other person; they could do nothing but froze in astoundment.

For as Aether had pointed his sword between Keqing's eyes. So has Keqing pointed her sword just at the tip of his throat.

It was then did Aether took note of the fact that the room had been filled with unconscious Treasure Hoarders. Which clued him in as to what he might have heard when he had rushed down those flight of stairs.

Neither were able to move for a couple of seconds. Realization setting in before Keqing became the first to recover.

"A-Aether!?"

"Keqing…"

Blinking rapidly, Keqing could only ask in bewilderment, "What are you doing here?"

The moment they both lowered their swords; Aether just couldn't find it within him to hold back.

At the drop of his sword, he had pulled her into an embrace that he had sorely wanted to engulf her with, from the moment his eyes took in that vibrant purple colour of her orbs. Her light gasp of surprise further grounding him to the fact she had indeed been right there in his arms.

She was about to question him further, before his voice came out as frail as glass itself.

"Y-You're okay…"

It had sounded as if he had just closed an insurmountable amount of distance between the two of them. She could feel his heart practically beating out of his chest, desperately trying to reach through to her own. His hold echoing the same sentiment with how tightly his hands had wrapped around her body.

Settling her own sword down on the floor, she took full support of his body. Pulling him further in to the embrace and letting him feel her warmth for all that he needed. His breath heavy by the side of her ears while he shoved his features deeper into the crook of her neck.

"It's okay… I'm here." Her words interspersed by the soft caressing on his hair, she nuzzled the side of his head, "I'm here, and I'm fine. Did you managed to find me through my notes?"

The small dip of his head was his initial reply, before his watery voice broke through the atmosphere, "The others were at a lost for clues, and so was I." His shaky exhalations still present, summoning an object into his hands, "But the moment Ganyu found your Dispatch in your grandfather's place, I knew that you must've placed the more important and incriminating documents in your study at the teapot."

A smile grew on her lips. He had grown to understand her thought process when it came to security. Of course, utilizing the fact that the teapot had been nigh impossible to access without the proper knowledge and required passes, she had banked on the fact that he would be the one to recognize the possibilities. It just so happened that the day she decided to go on that meeting, she had uncharacteristically left her Dispatch in her grandfather's house. Otherwise, she would any instant means of escape the moment she got ambushed.

Feeling the series of small pats that she began peppering on his back, he slowly normalized his breathing, "I thought they were torturing you." His hands still probed around her sides, making sure that there weren't any obvious wounds, "Didn't think that it had been the other way around…"

He could sense her inquisitive gaze, accompanied by a light chuckle, "What made you think that they were torturing me?"

"One of the guys who went up to the surface was thinking of shutting your up permanently after interrogating you."

"Pffft… Those guys we're just a bunch of cowards trying to act tough. None of them had the guts to even get close to me before I made my escape." She said reassuringly, hands beginning to play with his hair, "It was clear that they were under orders to keep me alive. I used that to my advantage, and kept pestering them to keep them off balance. These amateurs even forgot to unclip my Vision."

Aether was ready to let a light chuckle go when his hand felt a tiny oozing sensation by the side of her arm. A look at his now tinged with blood glove and a slight hiss elicited from Keqing was enough for him to pull back from the embrace and inspect the aforementioned area.

Sure enough, there was a small cut that almost ran across her right arm.

"You're bleeding…"

"R-Right… I had to improvise a way to have them cut the bindings holding my arm. When one of them charged at me after I took down the guy checking them; I just used the swing of his blade." She let out a nervous laugh, picking at her chin, "I guess I somewhat miscalculated. But, it's just a graze!"

Reverting back to his previous silence, he grabbed hold of both of her shoulders and settled her down on a nearby stool. Kneeling right ahead of her while he began to materialize a couple of first aid bandages and ointment. He motioned for her to keep her arm outstretched before he began to disinfect the wound. More hisses of pain trickled out of her lips as he gently dabbed the wound and all the dirt away.

"How did they managed to get to you anyway?" Aether asked with idle curiosity, his tone growing playful now that his mind had been able to think clearly, "Or are you telling me that the great Yuheng of the Liyue Qixing managed to get outsmarted by a bunch of amateur bandits, as you put it yourself?"

She knew he was deflecting his concerns, and she was willing to play along.

For now…

"Ha, very funny. I can fight off waves of Fatuis without fail, but I get taken down by random bandits who just happen to have the ability to scheme?"

Applying the bandage on her arm, he raised an eyebrow, "So there was a scheme?"

"From what I gathered so far; it seems to be highly probable." She thought back to the moment where they managed to gain the upper hand against her, "If they managed to get the Abyys to help them capture me, then I can only assume that their plans go further than simply wanting money out of extortion."

"From what you gathered?" His gaze switched between her and the bandage, "I thought you just got out of being tied up?"

Keqing shook her head nonchalantly, "Oh, no. That was probably about an hour ago. I was kept in a room some floors below this one." She thrusted her chin towards the unconscious Hoarders and the chamber in general, "This is where they store their documents and manifesto. I get the feeling that this is one their main branches in action, so I want to make sure that I get as much incriminating evidence as possible before finding a way out."

Aether could only gape at her while he tightened the bandage. His thoughts simply unable to process the train of thought that went through his girlfriend's mind.

"So, you're telling me… That instead of immediately looking for an escape-," he sighed, leaning on the support of her knees, "You decided to go around and investigate the enemy headquarters for evidence?"

The innocence in her expression was enough for him to understand that she hadn't thought of her choice to be anywhere near illogical.

"Well, of course. This was a location that I planned on investigating anyways." She casually answered after inspecting her bandaged arm, "When they brought me here, I was in fact somewhat thankful. It saved so much time and effort that I would've had to expend just to find and infiltrate this place."

Sometimes, he wished that she had been far less of a bolder person.

Sometimes, he wished that she had just been someone with a little bit more complacency in her personality.

But he can only chuckle to himself. Because to be all that, would mean that she wouldn't be Keqing.

Dropping his forehead onto her knees, he freely exhaled. Keqing only able to provide him with a sheepish gaze while he came into grips with her decision making. Her hand finding his own to make sure that he was able to have a bit more understanding over her actions.

"Keqing…" He dramatically bellowed, head still facing the floor, "Keqing, my dear…"

She ruffled his hair with a loose smile, "Yes, my Qin?"

"I love you." Fiddling with her fingers, his voice finally cleared out all the tension that remained in his heart, "I love you for all that its worth in this world…"

He finally raised his head. Bringing her hand upon his lips, as he began to pepper it with short yet sweet kisses.

"But please, can you not give me more of a heart attack than what's necessary?"

Chuckling at the mock-despair in his voice, she leaned down to leave a light peck on his hair.

"I will take that into consideration." Her heart both fluttered and clenched at the concern he had on display, "Next time, I'll make sure that I send you prior notice if I ever intend on getting kidnapped again."

A mix of a sigh and a groan went out of Aether as he went up back to his feet. Placing his forehead onto hers.

"You know what? Call me crazy." It was his turn to leave a light peck, this time on her forehead, "But that does sound like a better deal than just straight up disappearing on your own."

Patting his hand, she flashed him another grin, "I'm glad that you can see it my way." Taking in his amused gaze, she played on her act of innocence, "You know me so well at this point. I wouldn't have expected nothing else."

Another huff of a smile went out of him, before he materializes the item he had snapped back from the Hoarders on the surface.

"I take it that you would want this back?"

At the sight of her golden hairpin, her eyes shone against the light of the torch, "You found it!" Taking the accessory out of his hand, she checked the item for any immediate damage, "I noticed that it was gone just moments after I broke free, and that it hadn't been with my other belongings." Looking back at him, she asked, "Where did you find it?"

Grimacing, Aether timidly picked at his cheek, "I, uhhh… Took it off the hands of one of the Hoarders on the surface." He tried to hide the meekness in his voice, "The guy was planning to sell it to make up for his lack of retirement fund."

She eyed him with mock-suspicion, "When you say you 'took if off of his hands'…" She pointed at him with the hairpin, "Did you mean that you had to use a bit of force to get it back?"

"A bit might be an understatement…" He confessed with a bit of chagrin.

Chuckling at his honesty, she began putting the hairpin back on her lilac strands, "All things considered, I think we can safely say that it might have been the least that they deserved." She patted the accessory with a degree of elegance, tilting her head ever so slightly to fully showcase its appearance to him, "Well, what do you think? The rest of the outfit may be a bit dirty; but it still looks good on me, right?"

At her own remarks, he pulled his head back to give her one final look of observation from the bottom-up. Sure, her everyday battle dress had its fair share of wear from being held for an extensive period of time and a part of her braiding had somewhat come undone. Yet, her eyes remain brilliantly shining and her confidence radiantly glowed from her electrifying gaze.

"Beautiful." He brushed his hand upon her cheek, "Like always."

Though she had learned to prevent the blush from showing itself on her face, she could never quite do anything to prevent that warm feeling culminating from her heart. Her soul forever a prey to his way with words.

Nuzzling his caressing hand, she promptly sucked in a breath, "Alright, that's enough playtime for now." Grabbing his outstretched hand, she quickly rose to her feet, "Let's see if we can get some more information before making our way out of here."

Her determination still flared in her eyes, a sign for him to just sigh in acceptance, "Whatever you say, Lady Yuheng." Though the moment she saw her stretch out that bit of fatigue from her body, he was suddenly brought back to the thought of her stamina, "Are you sure, though? I can handle all the guys all the way to the top. You should just rest up while I clear the way."

"I'm alright. Don't worry." She patted his shoulder reassuringly, "Like I said, they were probably under orders to keep me alive. They gave me surprisingly sufficient sustenance." She shrugged at the recollection of the food, "It wasn't any A grade food, but it was enough to keep my energy up."

For now, he was willing to give her the benefit of the doubt. "If you say so…" Though he technically had not seen any sign of showing excess fatigue, he wasn't about to let her off without a warning, "But, if anything feels off. Just get behind me, okay?"

"Will do. But in any case, this should still be fun." Summoning her sword to her side, she playfully nudged him with her elbow, "It's been quite a while since we've battled alongside each other, huh?"

In return, he flicked her forehead, "And might I remind you that the last time we had to do this sort of thing…" His voice teasing and his gaze falling into a deadpan, "…It ended up with you collapsing from exhaustion afterwards."

Memories of the last Lantern Rite funnelled back into her mind, "I know, I know… I promise it won't happen this time." She scratched her head with a light groan, "The only sort of kink in my body is the headache I'm having from thinking about all the meetings that I'm going to have to reschedule after this."

If there was a way for him to confirm her health, then her skewed priorities had been a sure-fire signal of operation as to her general wellbeing.

"I'm not even gonna begin to try and understand how you're still thinking of work at this sort of scenario."

At the sound of multiple footsteps and shouting coming up from the floor above them, he pulled his sword out and stored his comments away.

"But it looks like something's happening up on the surface. So, I'll save the lecturing for later." He motioned towards the chamber exit, a sly donned on his features, "After you, Lady Yuheng. Let's not keep Ningguang and her forces waiting."

Scoffing at his act, she shook her head with chuckle and took the lead. With both their weapons at the ready, they begun moving swiftly through the flight of stairs. Choosing to mask their footsteps alongside the cacophony of chaos that was culminating above them.

To her surprise, there had been practically no opponents for the first few floors that they climbed up to. A convenient turn of events which allowed her to freely scrounge through the chambers in search of more information, while he stood watch. But she could immediately infer as to the reason why that had been the case.

"Did you really have to knock out every single guard on the way down there?" Her tone laced with amusement as they kept their bodies close to the walls and their footsteps light, her voice itself barely above that of a light whisper, "I appreciate the effort, but you could've left some for me to go through."

Aether puffed his chest out with pride, "I was just being dutiful boyfriend, that's all." He whispered teasingly, "What sort of a guy would I be if I didn't save my girlfriend while carrying her out of danger with both of my arms?"

This time, his words physically got her to halt her steps, while Aether gladly took over the lead once more, "We are not doing that." Her face red at the thought of him publicly carrying her out into the open like that, "I'd never be able to live it down if Ningguang ever saw us do anything remotely close to that."

"Not sure if you get to vote here…" His hand rose ahead of her, a signal prompting her to stop, "But we'll cross the bridge when we get to it. I'm hearing some people coming our way."

True to his deduction, a Treasure Hoarder's voice reverberated through the empty hall ahead of them.

"Secure the hostage. Those government schmucks wouldn't dare to do a thing if we have a knife to that harpy's throat!"

Grimacing, Aether looked back towards Keqing, "They sure have a colourful way of describing you."

All that garnered him was a gasp and light smack on his shoulder.

"Careful what you say, or I'm about to fight them all by myself."

He was about to comically refute the roundabout threat, but realized that he didn't really have any ground to stand on, "Touché. You know how to actually threaten me now." He took one last look at the approaching squad and gave her a nod, "I count eight people. If you're about use your Electro, do it after my elemental strikes. Sound's good?"

Though she didn't quite understand why such a pattern had been needed, she agreed nonetheless. Her eyes vigilante at the sight of his pounce.

The moment the Hoarder squad got into range; Aether wasted no time in blasting them with his Razorglass Blade. The sudden spring of Dendro catching both the Hoarder's and Keqing off guard, before she took hold of her sword and charged forth with her lightning stiletto. With a single slash of her Stellar Restoration, the electro dispersed by the thunderclap was enough to knock the entire squad off into the walls. The contact with Aether's Dendro application seemingly boosting the electrifying nature of her already powerful lightning.

Even Keqing had been enamoured by how effective the combination had been. She knew that Dendro and Electro had a way of resonating with one another that bores a resemblance to how Pyro and Hydro would, but she never thought that it would have increased the power of her element that significantly.

"Huh, I didn't think that it would've made much of a difference before…" She poked at one of the Hoarders out cold with her sword, the static left behind from their combined attacks still crackling around their body, "But that really did a whole lot of number on them, didn't it?"

Making sure that none of them hadn't been incapacitated, he sidled up towards her, "The Dendro causes the Electro reaction to aggravate, pretty much doubling the pain." With a pat on her head and a light peck to the side, he ushered her to keep up, "Now, come on. We've still got a few more levels to go through before we get to the ground floor."

Humming at the explanation, she got back to straightening her legs and immediately jogged towards his side. The two of them reverting back to their stealthier option the moment they were side to side once more.

After rounds of uneventful levels, they finally found their selves at the final hallway that stretched towards the main ground floor chamber. Though the second they stuck close to the wall that would have led up to the open room, they realized that trying to escape while they attempt to prevent outsiders from entering their headquarters might have somewhat backfired at them. Seeing as the Hoarders have now stationed a mountainous amount of men at their would be exit. Though their purpose had been to guard their entrance from people trying to get in, they had also unknowingly created a bit of a barrier between the two escapees from their salvation.

"That's a bit of a pickle." Aether pointed at all the men simply positioned near the exit, bracing for whatever may come through those gates, "Guess they were really desperate to make sure that they can't get to you."

"Yet, they're naïve enough to think that nothing could go wrong from the inside." Another round of disapproving headshake went out of her, "Like I said, complete amateurs."

He still couldn't help but to tease, "Is this the part where I remind you that they managed to capture you, nonetheless?"

"Hush, that's a thing of the past at this point." She waved off his devious smile, "Instead of thinking about that, how do you want to go about getting through all of those people? I'm open to ideas."

Fortunately for her, Aether had been itching for such an opportunity to present itself.

"How's your Starward Sword?" He prodded, "It isn't rusty, right?"

She let out a mock-gasp, "How rude. I might have been a damsel in distress in your eyes, but my skills are just as sharp as always." A pout landed itself on Keqing's lips, "What good are my years of training if it meant that I can't procure my trademark move on call?"

Raising his hand in an attempt to humorously placate her, Aether chuckled, "Alright, alright… Was just making sure." He explained, though his mischievous grin returned in a flash, "Nothing wrong with simply being safe. You did have a group of amateur bandits manage to-, OW!"

With a hard flick of his ear, he knew that it was time for him to halt his words. Her hands dangerously tight around his shoulder.

"Any more of that and fighting these people will be the least of your worries."

Powerful as he may be, the threats of the Yuheng herself never fails to send a chill down his spine, "Yes, ma'am. And to answer your previous question, I do have a plan, ma'am."

Loosening up her grip, her tone returned to neutrality, "Oh, what do you have in mind?"

His grin popped back up, his eyes glinting even in the minimal lighting that they had, "If you liked what we did before…"

Summoning that bit of Dendro in his hand, he eyed the centre of the plaza with childlike fascination.

"You're gonna love this."

Meanwhile, the Treasure Hoarders who lay in wait of the invading external forces could only begin sweating bullets at the prospect of fighting what could be equated to almost a battalion of millelith ready to advance into their base of operations. Not only did they have no clue if the Hoarders outside had been able to repel the attack, most of them in there had not shared the same convictions as many of their higher-ups when it comes to considering the likelihood of them getting out of this one unscathed.

"Damn it, is it even worth it at this point?"

One of the Hoarders began questioning out loud, only for a burlier man to stomp his feet beside him.

"If the boss tells us to hold, then we hold." He kept a commanding gaze on the uncertain underling, "Or are you tryna say that you don't think that the higher-ups know what they're doing?"

The underling could only quiver beneath his captain's gaze.

"N-No, of course-,"

"Honestly, that's kinda what I'm thinking about right about now."

At the sound of the interjection, both men and everyone else who had been stationed by the entrance looked back towards the individual who spoke up.

"Ho, you dare challenge the words of-,"

Only to come face-to-face with a blonde who they knew for sure, wasn't part of their squad, nor the organization for that matter. His sword brandished confidently on his shoulder while his innocent grin spelt nothing but trouble for everyone involved.

"Wait, who the hell are you!?"

"How did he get in here?"

"Quick, check on the status of the hostage!'

The litany of expletives and questions shouted over one another was enough to threaten a headache in Aether's head. He scratched his ears while he looked on with amusement at the panic these group of people began settling into.

Eventually, the burly man of the group pulled out his hammer, nose flaring and eyes blaring with rage, "Don't just stand around each other you idiots!" With a slam of his hammer on the floor, he shouted towards Aether, "Let's beat him until he's as blue as the ocean!"

True to their weird sense of solidarity, they all charged towards Aether in an instant. The scenario that he had really wanted to get out of placing himself in the crosshairs of the group.

"That's cute. But, I'm gonna have to end the party here, boys!"

He had wanted to pull them into the centre of the room, and by them blindly charging into him without any care of his own strategy, they got into the position he desired with him barely needing to lift a finger. By the time he felt that all of them had been condensed into a close enough circle, he jumped over the charging pack. Effectively landing in a position where he would be of equal distance between the range users, and the melee once.

Though the opposition had thought of it to be a move of pure stupidity.

"Ha, this guy doesn't know a thing about tactics!" The commander ushered the rest of what used to be the frontlines, to turn back and close the blonde in between his ranged squad and his own squad, "Don't know how you got in here, kid. But, we're gonna have to put your lights out instead!"

Aether simply grinned, his hand glowing green with his Dendro at the ready.

"I wouldn't be too sure about that."

Throwing his accumulated Dendro on the ground, he summoned an elemental flower that immediately sent a shockwave of Dendro all across the room. Many of the Hoarders caught in the circle staggered back with the force of the Dendro that just went out of his hand.

"Now, Keqing!"

Out of nowhere, the whole squad of Hoarders had suddenly been blinded by a purple flash that came from one of the hallways. A figure that they thought to have still been held captive in their dungeon flew high into the ceiling. Another brilliant flash of lightning the last thing they saw, before her voice echoed triumphantly throughout the chamber.

"Nowhere to hide!"

---

Ningguang wasn't sure what to expect when she had led the squadron to Minlin in search of her friend, but to be stopped midway by one of the adeptus of Jueyun Karst hadn't exactly been the way she had thought of things to happen.

Thankfully, though Moon Carver's presence had been short, it certainly saved them the effort of clearing the wrong hideout. Through the stag's brief recollection of his encounter with the blonde Traveler, she knew that re-routing towards the hideout near Mount Aocang had been the utmost priority for her squad to change towards.

After dispatching a few members to send the word to Ganyu's regiment, she promptly led her men towards the rocky-hills of where their hideout had been presumed to be. Though the trek had caused them to arrive in a later time than they have expected, they were far more surprised at the fact that it simply looked as if the Treasure Hoarders had just reorganized their lines. Their men came filtering through the outskirts of the mounds surrounding the ancient tree Moon Carver had designated as their destination.

Understanding that it had been the time to take advantage of their disarrayed formation, she ordered her men to quickly intervene. Preventing the reorganization of their lines becoming a quick agenda on the top of her mind.

And just like that, a battle ensues.

Though they had been somewhat outnumbered, her men had more than made up for the lack of their size with their skills and discipline. Yet, sometimes quality does take its time when it comes to getting the upper hand against quantity. It was only when Xiao had arrived, did they finally began pushing the Hoarder forces back towards the entrance to their hidden base.

When Ganyu's forces arrived, they were on the brink of breaking the Hoarder's lines. Xiao stamping his authority over the battlefield as he stared down the person who seems to be the outside force's leader.

"Stand down, mortal." He swung his spear to the side, knocking out another one of the charging opponents, "Unlike the human forces, I won't hesitate to use deadly means to resolve our differences if you choose to continue your futile resistance."

In a feat of resolve that Ningguang could only describe as "pure stupidity", the man attempted to stand his ground, "Ha, you're all talk!" He gestured towards the millelith, "I know that you guys won't dare to do a thing if it means risking something happening to your precious Yuheng!"

Though the moment he said that, a huge cloud of dust exploded from within their base. An air of electricity crackling around entrance as more and more dust clouds seemed to have filtered through the enclosure. The battle ahead simply halted at the sudden sight, waiting for what is to come.

As the cloud of dust dissipated, two figures began bounding out from the shadows. Though to be precise, one of them had been bounding out while the other hand been carried on both the other's arms. A light blush fettered on her cheeks while she shot him a look of suspicion.

"You did that on purpose, didn't you?"

The blonde holding her simply looked away, "What? You were mid-air. I wasn't about to just let you drop."

"I was about to land." She poked at his chest, still unaware of the audience that they have seemingly gathered, "You knew very well that my technique will require me to be mid-air for a split second. Don't try to act as if you hadn't planned all that!"

Still holding her like a bride, he kept his air of nonchalance, "I didn't plan anything!" He shrugged at her accusations, "I just thought that some things might happen when some other things happened. Then, it ended up happening and voila! You're in my arms now."

"Uhuh, I'm sure that's all there is to-,"

"Traveler, I take it that two of you are unharmed, then?"

At the sight of the yaksha, the couple froze when they realized they were most definitely not the only ones there. Aether merely let out a nervous laugh as Keqing began scanning the scene ahead. Noticing Xiao's crossed arms, Ganyu's amused gaze, and…

…Ningguang's terrifyingly devious smirk.

Keqing's face now practically as red as the sun could possibly heat them up to be.

"Aether…"

Her voice had been low and threatening. Aether slowly turned his head with terror ladened in his heart.

"Y-Yes, Lady Yuheng?"

"Put. Me. Down."

If everyone had merely been listening, then they would have thought that the Yuheng had suddenly turned into the witch with how much her voice had seethed with rage.

"NOW!"

Suffice to say, the Treasure Hoarders took it as a sign to surrender.

No longer in possession of their one and only bargaining chip, they were logical enough to realize that there was no more point in enduring a beatdown from trained army personnels and government big-shots alike. Better to end the suffering early rather than to uselessly prolong it.

Millelith and government officials alike began to scour their hideout for more evidence that Keqing had most likely missed. Trying to see if there is anything more to be found that could corroborate the investigation that had been done in their capital.

At the sight of the battle subsiding, Xiao decided to take his leave. But not before Ningguang provided him with her own words of gratitude, and to send their regards to the adepti that had helped.

After making sure that Keqing had actually been alright, the medical team kept a tight eye on her the entire way back to Liyue Harbour. With only Aether and a select few others allowed to be anywhere near her vicinity, the trip had been relatively uneventful, and Keqing had taken the time to sort through her thoughts and get into grips with what had indeed happened that allowed all of this to transpire in the first place.

Sat on the carriage, Ningguang began detailing the happenings that have taken place in the depths of the government. With what it all had started from, a land acquisition proposal that Keqing had rejected months ago, due to the number of regulations that the proposal had inherently failed to take account of – making it highly dangerous to even consider accepting in the first place.

Through Yelan's investigation, they were able to attain notes and documents that outlined the conspiracy the clan had been delving into. Coupled with all the evidence that Keqing and the investigative team had gathered, it was concluded that the clan that had been involved with the Treasure Hoarder will soon be trialled. With the Ministry of Civil Affairs already making moves to arrest those in the clan that had involvement within the case.

The moment they arrived at the city; Aether simply didn't have the time nor the opportunity to even get close to Keqing. News spread like wildfire in the Liyuean grapevine and the people were anxious to welcome their Yuheng back into the city's safe walls. Though he was still worried about her health, he felt massive reprieve in seeing that her people had actually went out of their way to show their support for her, and he could only smile to himself as he observed from afar.

Yet, despite all that, he still managed to stick with the entourage. Only to be met with a crying Paimon at Yuehai Pavilion as the little fairy immediately stormed towards her travelling companion. Her words of lecture interjected with teary sobs at the thought of him recklessly entering enemy territory on his lonesome, before she gave Keqing an embrace all the same.

Finally, they were asked to leave when the medical team exerted their authority. Citing that it is protocol for them to perform the health checks without external disturbance. To his and Paimon's reluctance, they decided that it would be best to wait in the teapot.

"I'll make sure that it won't take long." Keqing said as she went to leave for the medical wing of Yuehai Pavilion, "I'll see you two in a couple of hours."

With that, they didn't know what else to other than to kill time and recuperate back in his realm.

After a brief detour to Wangshu Inn to thank Xiao for his help, Aether finally found himself back onto the soft paddings of his bed. Having to endure an hour-long lecture from Paimon about the dangers of doings things without her by his side. In all honesty, he could only smile the entire time. The fairy's concern of not only for him but for his partner all such endearing expressions for him to express. While all he could in the midst of her rant is to apologize and answer any of the questions that she had spurred out of worry and confusion.

Eventually, the fairy felt drained from all the ranting she had done.

"Paimon's tired from all the questions and worrying that Paimon had to do today." Making her way out of Aether's room, she looked back at the man before fully heading out, "Paimon will be waiting for a big breakfast as a reward tomorrow!"

At the sight of his thumbs up, she closed the door shut. Her nagging remarks still vaguely audible through the wall before she went back to her own room, and the voice completely subsided.

Noticing that he still smelled of stone and dust, he decided to head off for a shower. Making sure to take his time to settle all the grime away from his body. Coupled that with the fact that he just felt like standing there, enveloped by warm water in the midst of what had been a decently chilly day, he ended taking a while longer in the shower than he normally does.

Which is why it didn't exactly surprise that by the time he got back the bedroom, a certain someone had sat expectantly on his bed. Her outfit now changed to the nightgown that she had frequently wore now that she had settled into his domicile.

"You sure took your time in the shower." Keqing laxly remarked. Leaning onto the support of her arms on the bed, "But even that wasn't enough to let your hair fully dry?"

Reminded of the towel that still laid on his head, he chuckled at the thought simply standing there with his hair looking like wet noodles, "What can I say? Thanks to genetics, I've got thick and luscious hair." Taking the towel off and putting his head down for her to see his scalp, he pointed at it with enthusiasm, "Thousands of years exploring the stars and no signs of balding."

Scoffing at his childlike shenanigans, she pushed herself off of the bed. Bringing along the chair that she initially placed for her legs to rest on towards his desk, settling it right in ahead of him before patting the chair. Urging him to take a seat.

"Sit down, I'll dry it off for you."

He wasn't going to say no to that.

Taking his place on the chair, he handed the towel off to her awaiting hands. She sat at the edge of the desk, waiting for him to duck his head and let her begin scrubbing the towel on.

It wasn't that she was using this as an excuse to touch his hair more often. Of course not. She was just being a dutiful girlfriend.

The moment she began her drying, Aether fell into a sort of therapeutic trance. Her gentle motion both soothes and relaxes his soul after a whole day of constant trials and tribulations. But he could tell that she was acquiring her own form of fun from all of this, judging by the fact her feet had been swinging around like kid would swing theirs when they were giddy or excited. Not to mention, the light hum that began to filter through her lips.

No one would have ever guessed that she had just been held captive for the past forty-eight hours. Much less been involved in a governmental conspiracy.

"How were things after I left?" He inquired. Curious of what other aspect the investigation might have revealed, "Did they finally get to the people that made all the chaos today?"

He could her humming wavering with her nods, "They did. It was a fourth-ranked noble clan called the Qixuns. They run multiple mining operations across Liyue. Some of which, as the investigation revealed; had apparently been illegal." Still maintaining the force of her hair-drying, she huffed at the thought of their conspiracy, "They saw their land acquisition proposal as a gateway to establishing more control over Liyue's mining industry. According to an informant that Miss Yelan has, the head of family had been insulted when he found out that I rejected his grand proposal without even considering it for a minute."

Aether winced at the thought.

"Which was enough to make him form a plan to forcefully remove you from the position?"

Shrugging at the notion, her tone remained monotonous, "Seems that way. They already have a plan to place a puppet Yuheng in my place. Just like the way the Fatui had planned on smuggling a candidate for the Tianshu position." Her humming turned into a muse, "Judging by the documents they had fabricated, they were planning on smearing my public image in the timeframe where they intend for me to remain missing. Using my disappearance as a justification where I decided to run away due to all the terrible things I had apparently done."

"Wha-, they wanted you gone that badly?"

Her tone now grew dismissive, "Honestly, it probably wouldn't be the first time some overzealous clan had that sort of thought." A hollow breath escaped her lips, "I can't appease everyone. Moreover, I don't please people by default, and these low-ranking nobles are people who have egos that even eccentric ancient warlords can only dream of possessing."

Still unsure of such a notion, he muttered hesitantly, "Still, I don't think it warrants wanting to make someone disappear…"

"We've had this conversation before, Aether. Cutthroat mentality exist on both spectrum of wealth." She thought back to their first Lantern Rite together, "The life of nobles and the high society of Liyuean culture can involve some incredibly barbaric principles. Especially when you're involved with people who'd do anything to get to the top."

It was something that he could never quite wrap his head around. But business and political status isn't quite the kind of things that he would want to surround himself with. At the end of it all, the only thing he can really is to take her word for what it is, and support her in the times where she needs it.

"In any case, these people probably wouldn't see the light of day for quite a long time. The charges placed against them were quite severe." She pulled the towel up to check on the shape of his hair before continuing the circling motion, "Yanfei stated that they could be in prison for decades. Their charges could equate to that of treason, which if we were to strictly follow the laws of old Liyue; would've meant the death penalty."

Though he would never condone death as a sure-fire punishment, he knew that the law makers would have had a different point of view, "Do you guys no longer implement capital punishment?"

"We do, but I worked out an arrangement that would prevent it from ever getting there."

Her perked up at the revelation, "You did?"

She nodded softly, "Mhmm, I've made some arguments and they were willing to reduce the sentence to prison for life. I loathe having blood spilled on my behalf, and I wasn't about to have it done now." He could see the slight shiver she had at the thought of such a punishment happening due to her volition, "But that was about as far as I wanted to lighten their sentence. I can forgive and forget what they did to me, but I cannot ignore the ramifications that would've happened if they went through with their plans."

"What it would do to the people of Liyue itself, right?"

Pausing her hand motion, she smiled at his understanding, "Exactly. Being kept captive in a dungeon Archons know where is something I would eventually get over, on a personal capacity." Her teeth gritted at the thoughts of their nefarious schemes, "But they colluded with the Abyss, and had been a willing pawn in their game to bring harm to the people of Liyue."

She huffed with shake of her head.

"That, I won't ever be able forgive."

It would go against the very principle of her vision as the Yuheng, and as someone who is supposed to lead Liyue into the future. The people will always come first. Rex Lapis has his way of making sure that his people would be able to prosper into the coming millennia, and so would she.

But for now, she would settle with making sure that she makes the most out of what her people can do for the nation, and grow alongside them.

And alongside this man.

Her pensive gaze broke through her veneer, and Aether couldn't help but to think about the ordeals she just had to go through for the past couple of days.

"So, are you okay?" He asked tentatively, unsure of how to approach the topic. Even if she had been fine when they were escaping, there was simply no telling if she had been perfectly fine emotionally, "How are you holding up?"

Her humming continued, her reply interspersed between it, "I'm alright. The medical team cleared me to go home." Rubbing at the side of his head, she sighed melodramatically, "I've been ordered to take at least a week off of work though. And this time, there's nothing that I can do to go against the team's decision."

Grabbing hold of both her arms, he peeked out from under the towel, "As you should. Keqing, you were kidnapped, for gods' sakes." His grip grew a bit tight, "You have to let your mind and heart settle down and wash all that adrenaline away."

"Don't worry, I get it. I'm not here to fight you on this matter. I've worried you far too much to add to your burden." She assured him with a poke of his nose, "Everyone else had also made their point. Ningguang kept pestering me about spending my rest time with the people I love-,"

At the mention of said topic, his grin grew brighter while she ruffled his hair playfully.

"-And yes, she meant you. Silly boy." Her eyes were layered with uncertainty once more, her fingers now timidly playing with his hair, "You… are staying for the time being, right?"

"Of course. I need to get away from having to solve other people's problems for once in my life." Placing her hand within his own, he left a light peck on her forearm, "Besides, even I was needed elsewhere; there'd be nothing preventing me from being here – by your side."

Her heart grew warm at the sound of his proclamation. She nudged his shoulders to rotate, "Turn around. I'll braid your hair."

Obeying in an instant, he swiftly turned his chair away and left his hair facing her. Within seconds, she began to weave through his hair. Straightening it to make sure that there hadn't been any knots before she began her process in braiding his hair to its usual state.

"Do you have anything you want to do?" She asked while her hand busied itself with his hair, "We've got a week completely to ourselves. I'll go where you want to go."

Aether tilted his head further back, trying to get a look of her face, "A full interrupted week just with you…" His eyes lit up at that thought, "Sounds like I'm spoiled for choice here."

"As it should be, I'm not even sure if you remember-," She lightly tugged on his hair, their eyes connecting with one another as he leant further back, "But your birthday's coming in just a week."

"It is?" He scoured the room for the calendar, and sure enough; his birthday was indeed a week away. "Whoa, time does fly, huh?"

Finalizing the last bits of the braid, she looked at her handiwork with pride before huffing, "Time does fly indeed. All things considered, both of us have been quite busy this year." Linking her arm around his shoulders, she placed her chin by the crook of his neck, nuzzling his cheek with her own, "Before we know it, we'd be celebrating our anniversary in a few months."

Years ago, she would easily dismiss relationship anniversaries as such a trivial matter. Though she knew that it had all stemmed from the fact that she didn't exactly have any relationships worth annually celebrating for, she had also looked at the subject with a degree of cynical impracticality.

Yet, when she thought of the year that had spent with this man beside her. She couldn't but feel a tiny bit of excitement in her heart. Waiting for said day to come.

Though he hadn't expected her to be the one to bring up the notion, he smiled freely at the thought that she had also been looking forward to such an occasion, "Have I made you happy this year, though?" He asked, his turn to delve into his uncertainty, "I was away for quite some time. If you ever need me to be around more-,"

"I don't think I'd be able to find the kind of happiness you've given me – anywhere else." She brought her arms closer around his shoulder, while his hands latched on to them, "Don't feel bad about continuing your journey. You have your mission, and I have my own. We knew what we signed up for."

Placing another light kiss on her cheek, her eyes glinted with a radiant glow.

"What's important is that we keep coming back to each other, and remain faithful to one another."

Reaching up to caress her hair, he nodded with conviction.

"Always."

Keqing nuzzled closer to him, "Always."

They shared a sweet, chaste kiss. Keqing taking the time to soak in his essence while she remained in the support of his shoulders. Aether doing the same as he merely leant back in his chair. His body falling into light waves of motion followed by the sway of her feet.

It was then did he finally had an idea on how to spend their week together.

"You know, I think instead of telling you about the rest of the things that I did in Sumeru…"

He looked up to her curious gaze.

"Why don't I just bring you there and have you see it for yourself?" Leaning his head on her shoulder, his grin remained bright, "Think of it as our own little vacation."

Briefly considering the idea, Keqing didn't find any need to give the idea any further thoughts.

"Sounds like a plan."